Bhaktapur, Back to School, Back to Base Camp

What do you do in the last week of an epic adventure? Cram in as much as possible in our case!

We're trying not only to make the most of our last project visits and to reflect back on all our experiences, but also to soak up Nepal as much as we can. So since we last posted, here's what we've been up to...
On Saturday we visited the incredibly beautiful ancient town of Bhaktapur- complete with majestic temples, allotments filled with marigolds,and squares full of drying harvested rice being raked by locals (mostly women!) wearing traditional dress. The whole town felt like a film set- it was like nothing we'd ever seen before in real life.


Yesterday, we visited the KTS Primary School (that's right-Sunday is the beginning of the week here). This is the school that is fully supported by KTS, the knitwear, carpentry and carpet project we visited last week. We were invited to visit by Coruna, the school's headmistress, after meeting her at Tihar dinner. This joyful, creative place was brimming with happy students and staff. It really was great to see this social enterprise in action and Coruna proudly pointed to the smiling faces of former pupils on a fading photograph, telling us about their various achievements in life-whether that be emigrating to Australia, teaching in the school or being happily married with kids . Her personal interest in the lives of both past and present students was testament to the spirit of this great lady and her family- it was her father who began KTS 30 years ago.

Today we decided to try and catch a better view of the snowy peaked Himalaya and headed to the sleepy town of Dhulikhel. After climbing what felt like about 1000 steps to a temple/ army lookout  (strange combo we know) we retired to an in-the-middle-of nowhere coffee shop. Yes, we do have a knack of finding them! We were the only customers until a lovely group of Yorkshire folk broke the silence with a brilliant laugh. Over a cuppa we talked about fried rice, knock-off North Face puffas and, wait for it, climbing Everest. That's right, not only had this group of intrepid explorers all previously reached Everest Base camp, the lovely Chris had been the oldest Brit to reach the summit and had held onto this world record until good old Ranulph knocked him off his perch (quite literally) 10 years down the line. Or should we say up the mountain. What a truly humble and inspirational gang they were. Suffice to say it was too foggy for good views, but we didn't really care after meeting them.

So what's left now? We've 2 more appointments and many plates of momo's to get through before we leave on Friday. We hope our brains and bellies can take it! We'll let you know...

Happy Newari Year everyone!

It's now the year 1132 and there are oil burners lining the lanes of ancient Patan. Placed amongst intricate rangolis made of coloured rice flour and petals, these little vessels of light were lit one by one until every lane and alleyway is twinlkling in their warm golden glow. It all began yesterday as strands upon strands of marigold garlands were draped above every doorway, window ledge and staircase to mark the start of Tihar and the Newari 'new era'. We don't really need to say it do we- it's magical! There's been dancing on every street corner, trumpet fanfares coming from every direction and a fire cracker every time you least expect it!

And if this wasn't enough, we've just come back from a family feast hosted by Kiran of KTS. We felt so honoured to be part of such a special meal... and what a meal it was! Spicy buffalo, beaten rice-very similar to toasted oats and ginger and peanuts where just some of the thus far unexplored tastes for Olley and Wells to get their mouths around. Yum yum!! And, wait for it... homemade gulab jammons- amazing! Here's to 1132!

You'll never knit alone...

Here are a few facts about our life in Nepal:
-We are awoken each morning at 5am by the sound of cow bells and moos.
-The cardi's are out - it's actually quite chilly of a morn and in the evening. Marvellous.
-Jen spots Everest on a daily basis. Lynsey has to assure her it is not covered in trees.
-At least 20 momos a day are consumed between the 2 of us. And we're not trekking it off.
-Bedtime is at 9.30pm as the miniature doors of our Newari guesthouse are firmly locked. It's a jungle out there.
Hope that gives you an idea of the flow of things here in Patan, Nepal. But apart from shopping for woolly slippers and eating momos, we've been surprisingly busy, in a Nepalese kind of way, already!

Whilst acclimatising in a coffee shop(!) on Sunday, we read about an exhibition of the home-based workers network- SABAH. With 2 hours left of the show, we had to check it out! A quick look on the map revealed the location was in downtown Kathmandu... a good one and a half hour walk away (we timed that on the way back). So with none of the rickshaws we'd become accustomed to in India,  we squashed into the local bus- think 16 seater minibus with 47 people. Trouble being, with not one English speaker on the bus, we literally had no idea where we were or where we were going. It was fun and needless to say we got there in the end. And what an interesting show it was. Bringing together textile producers from across South Asia who are isolated due to the nature of working from home, this upmarket event was all about networking, showcasing and highlighting the skills of the workers and also their plight (they are often exploited, having little business acumen and no-one to stick up for them). For us it was a great way to be thrown into the Nepalese craft tradition and we're off to visit the head office today!

Which brings us up to yesterday and a visit we've been particularly looking forward to. Has anyone heard of the online shop People Tree? Well if you haven't, look it up and go shopping and if you have you'll understand our excitement. We've been looking and coveting the products produced by Kumbeshwar Technical School for People Tree for ages and yesterday we got the chance to go and see this fantastic social enterprise in action. Literally round the corner from our guest house, sits this expanding venture which at present includes a primary school, vocational training in carpet weaving, carpentry and knitting, production unit and show room. And that's just the icing on the cake. After meeting the director, Kiran Khadgi, who so kindly gave up his time in what is a very packed schedule, we were shown around part of the production unit and got to see spinning, dying, weaving and knitting undertaken by graduates of the school. (a staggering 90% of the graduates find work in their field). Unlike the high-tech factory we saw in Bangalore, this all took place in 2 lovely 3-storey balconied buildings overlooking the 'hills', down a cobbled lane occupied by children and chickens. The dye baths were elevated giant tin pans on log fires and wet yarn was drying on rooftops. Amongst the chatter was the sound of hand spinning and tapping looms. And out of these headquarters, together with 800 supported home-workers, comes enough beautiful products to sell to fund the entire operation. We can't do justice to the amazing history of KTS and the expanse of their programme here, but what we can say is that we were mightily impressed and inspired by what has and is still being achieved. And we're very excited because we're meeting the lovely Kiran and his family once again for dinner on Thursday (which we're calling Boxing Day because it's the second day of the Tihar holiday) before he jets off to Malaysia for the World Fair Trade Conference. Can't wait!

PS. Lyns was extra excited when she walked into KTS as the first two hand-woven Tibetan wool rugs she saw were Liverpool AND Celtic ones. No Stoke City though. Sorry Jen.

We're under ever-rest!

Namaste from Nepal!

Meeting a pilot from New Mexico, bumping into a base-camp bound Scot and an attempt to upgrade us to first class all made our journey a dream. Meeting a local seamstress, sampling the best momos in a rooftop cafe overlooking centuries old wooden carved temples and being wholeheartedly welcomed by our hosts at Newa Chen (our 360 yr old UNESCO listed world heritage site guest house) have all made us fall in love with Nepal already- and we've only been here a few hours!

Oh and we forgot to mention, we can see the Himalayas from our beds. ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  

Marvellous Manzil!

A slip in the mud, $30 posting $4 worth of nik naks (ok, we've exaggerated but you get the gist!) and possibly our first hint of Delhi Belly. What a way to to spend our last day in India! Thankfully that was all over by 10.30am. After patching up Jen (thanks Jo Jo for the first aid kit!x) we spent the rest of our morning in the peaceful, tranquil Memorial Museum of Mahatma Ghandi learning more about this great man and his love of peace and freedom. Once again textiles raised it's woven head as we learned about Ghandi's championing of the artisans and his belief in the power and politics of making- primarily focusing on cloth.

"But what," we hear you cry " have you two been up to all week?" Well, apart form searching tirelessly high and low to find a working internet, lots! As we said last time, we came to meet the group that is Manzil. This is an after school project for young people, providing creative education unlike what you get in the state school system here. There's music, computer, english, craft, art, math and dance classes, and one heck of a lot of fun to be had! On Tuesday evening, after being led up some dark steps to a top floor flat we found a small room crammmed with 16 young people sitting cross-legged, all laughing. We squashed into the back of this class and learnt a thing or two about english grammar from the French teacher and her keen students. Luckily that time we weren't ask to contribute too much! Before finding out fully about Manzil's philosophy and programme we could just feel the essence of it from simply walking into that room- contagious fun, encouragement abounding and an all encompassing family atmosphere. In a word- happiness!

After class we spent the rest of the evening meeting Ravi, the founder of Manzil, at his home in the market, discussing philosophy, learning and creativity, all the while being serenaded by his mother on sitar- we felt a little bit like The Beatles! Ravi shared Manzil's (which means destination/destiny in Hindi) story which all began with him helping one little boy who asked for a maths class. Manzil now provides for 150 enthusiastic students, has 7/8 staff and around 20 volunteers. Remarkably it was only 2 months ago that Manzil moved out of the home that Ravi shares with his mother and sister into a dedicated space. Wow! Thank you to everyone at Manzil for letting us hang out with you, gatecrash classes and eat lunch- you're amazing!

Also while in Delhi, a surprise highlight has been stumbling upon a nationwide mela (festival) for artisan-based NGOs at the Craft Museum. We had an amazing opportunity to meet, chat with and buy from craftspeople from all over India. We learnt so much and unlike the static museum displays, locked behind glass cabinets, this felt like a live museum, where we could really engage with people and their work.

We're leaving India with busy minds, full notebooks and heavy suitcases and on top of all that new friends and tonne of crackin' memories! What a joy it's been! Next stop Kathmandu... 

Taj Mahagical and Delhilicious!

Today's special offer...it's two for the price of one!

Taj Mahagical


Our dedicated Taj Mahal day lasted from sunrise till sunset. Getting up at the crack of dawn (literally!) we jumped into the first ricksaw wallah that we could find to catch sunrise over the Taj. That didn't quite happen due to everyone else having the same idea (ie queue-a-rama!) but walking through that red sandstone gate and seeing the ethereal glowing white marble Taj against a backdrop of dawn sky was jaw droppingly beautiful (and Lyns can vouch even if you've seen it before the Taj still has the same magical pull as the first time).


What was striking and beautiful for us as 'craft lovers' (!) especially given the focus of this trip was the amount of handwork involved in creating this masterpiece. From the very construction of this giant mausoleum to the intricacies of the gemstone patterned inlay and carved screens, it was hard to imagine just how such a vast building was made before modern technologies (it's dated early 1600s) yet at the same time you can almost feel the ghosts of the craftsmen working by hand. We spent about three hours wandering around in awe and about half that time posing for pictures of our own and surprisingly random strangers'.

After an afternoon of pottering and swimming (yes, swimming!) we set off again for more Taj love - this time from the other side of the river and at dusk. Watching the glow of the dying sun on the water we said goodbye to the Taj Mahal...feeling as if we'd known it all our lives and knowing it will stay with us for ever. Ta-raj for now!

Delhilicious!

We've arrived in the capital of India! And we've already met a couple of angels...Namely Anuj, the guy who zoomed us through frantic late nigh Delhi stationland - carrying bags whenever stairs appeared, guiding us through the metro system, paying our fare and delivering us safely to our stop. After stepping out of Patel Chowk station at 11.15pm and being faced by what we've come to know as typically Indian - an uncrossable road - our second angel appeared. This time in uniform. Leaving his rifle in his van, the policeman escorted us across the road, stopping traffic and helping us reach our bed for the night. Thank you angels!

We're now adjusting to Delhi - it's weird, there's pavements, getting ourselves ready for our next big meet: Manzil, a market based youth project and making the most of Delhi's fantastic museum resources. We're ready for more inspiration!

Today's travel update: Continuing on our wildlife theme, there are Zebras here in Delhi. Yes, zebra crossings.

Agraphobia...

Are they still following us? For the past 4 hours we have been hotly pursued by a ageing cycle rickshaw wallah. He's keen, he's chatty but he's certainly not fast. After deciding to give him a chance about 2 hours ago, our love of gulab jammons tipped him over the edge and we had to get off so he could push his bike uphill. Did this put him off? Of course not- his tactic was to get Lyns to give him a ride, much to the amusement of fellow drivers! And he's not been the only pursuer we can assure you!

You see, after living out one of Jen's life time ambitions, to travel across India on a sleeper train, we seem to have landed into the rickshaw capital of the world... Agra! The land of no personal space! The land of constant invitations into nick-nack shops! Oh and there's quite a pretty white building nearby called the Taj Mahal. This evening we caught a dusky glimpse of this majestic vision from amongst some water tanks and builders' debris on the roof top of a hotel (it's amazing where a bit of nosiness can get you). Tomorrow it's an early rise for an official viewing at dawn. We're excited!

So we sadly said goodbye to the south of India- the Bay of Bengal, the palm trees, the masala dosas- but not before a wonderful send off meal full of fish, fun and friendship, courtesy of our new dear friends Tom and Thangam.We also managed to have a really informative chat with Swarna, one of the UK coordinators of Vandamanu (the seaside project we'd visited the day before), a final night on the Pondi tiles with Yvonne- our librarian friend from Paris (which in fact was a cup of chai in a darkened cafe as it was the night before the elections and was therefore a 'dry day') and an amazing coastal bus journey back up to Chennai. So thank you everyone both here and at home for making the first half of our trip amazing, magical and even just possible.We are SO grateful.

Todays travel update - beasts we've shared the road with:
Monkeys, cows, chipmunks, horses, water buffalo, oxen, goats, peacocks, elephants and today a new arrival - lone wandering camels.

Down by the beach...

Wow, wow, wow. Sewing, the beach, fishermen and 3 wonderful ladies. What a magical afternoon we've had.

Today was the first part of our Vandamanu visit. Vandamanu is the sewing and screenprinting unit that originally got Jen's Winston ball rolling... to go there today, was therefore especially poignant. The project was set up to help a small seaside village overcome the devastation of the 2004 tsunami by working directly with the UK, taking orders for printed cloth bags like the type you'd use for shopping.

After phone calls between non-Tamil speaking Jen, non-English speaking Geetha, and our very helpful rickshaw driver we eventually pulled into this tiny village and were met by an enthusiastically waving Geetha waiting at the roadside for us. After hugs, giggles, and a further squashed auto-ride, we were led up a stairwell to the turquoise room that is the home of this inspirational project. We were met by further giggles, hot coffee and a sewing demonstration on pedal-operated machines by two other workers- Sandhya and Ummal. After much hand gesturing and non-language communication, the five of us, new friends, took a dusk beach stroll watching fishermen bring in their catch and paddling in the warm Bay of Bengal. As we started off by saying- wow, wow, wow!

Tomorrow we will find out more about how this project actually works as we are meeting Swarna, the UK contact and co-ordinator for breakfast, but for today we could not have asked for more.

Aurotopia?

Bonjour! Ok, so it's been a few days since we last posted and we've taken a bit of time here to relax, drink some cafe au laits and soak up la atmosphere. We've done a tres bon job at that but don't worry we've not forgotten our true purpose...

On Monday we put our thinking caps back on and headed on an auto adventure to Auroville- a utopian living experiment, just outside of Pondi central. We'd heard about this place from various people and were told we must go as craft making was such a huge part of it culturally and economically. Though it's trying to eradicate money and it's inhabitants are encouraged to become free of personal possessions, making beautiful objects- in leather, textiles, paper, you name it- is seen as a way to express creativity and also to sell off to punters like us, 'cos lets face it folks, money really does make the world go round! We were under the impression from ex-aurovillians and our guidebooks that this would be a small town with working studios but when we arrived it was actually a closed community with only a visitor centre and 3 boutiques. Mm. It would be interesting to learn more about how this community works but we think you'd need to live there for at least a few weeks... and to be honest we'd be a tad worried that we'd be brainwashed by the giant golden golfball that sits centrally in Auroville and represents concentration. Mm again. Thankfully we were able to glean enough food for thought to keep our brains from going into total cappucino meltdown and it was fascinating to see the manifestations of one person's ideal world.

Yesterday we visited the ancient and marvellous carvings in Mahaballapuram. Go on say it fast. This was also a trip down memory lane for Lyns as she visited this place 15 years ago first time round. But time has not treated this traveller well, for the second time this trip Lynsey has been mistaken for Jen's mum! Er, hello?! Unfortunately time has not treated Mahaballapuram well either- what with tonnes more littering tourists and sadly the effects of 2004 tsunami, the hidden caves and tremendous temples remain breathtaking but all around is frankly a bit of a mess. However, the trip did lead to our next travel update...

Buses. This time day ones. A few handy hints:
Don't fall asleep whilst travelling as this only leads to embarrassment when EVERYONE tries to wake you up when you reach your destination.
Do not worry when you are pointed to an empty stretch of barren highway and told this is a bus stop. Trust the locals, the bus will come.
And just like in the UK three come at once. Another thing that is the same the world over.

Biking beach babes!

Today's lesson: It's amazing what you learn by just having fun.

We decided that today was going to be a day of relaxing by the sea and soaking up the moment. So off we auto-ed to Serenity Beach, about 15 minutes away from Pondy with our books and enough change for a couple of fresh lemon sodas. We'd heard about a small cafe and craft market that was taking place there, but in reality it was a beautiful palm-screened and goodie-filled enclosure run by a dynamic business woman and social entrepreneur called Kasha. This little oasis was surrounded only by fishing huts and beautifully painted boats. This woman is working hard to make a living, create beautiful spaces for others to enjoy AND support local communities AND market goods for local craft initives. Wow.

You see, Kasha owns a cafe in town - on a rooftop terrace no less - staffed only by local women (very unusual here - it's normally men) and unlike the unspoken caste hierachy that still often operates, this cafe has a policy of everyone mucking in with every kind of job. Below the cafe is a fair trade boutique, and we also noticed she runs a real estate business. What an inspirational woman!

So there we were planning to switch off, but instead ended up having a great chat with Kasha, saw her ethos in action and gained loads of food for thought...and of course we still got those fresh lemon sodas. Delicious!

And finally, we know you haven't had a travel update for a while, so brace yourselves, the big news today is that Jen and Lyns have hit the roads! Yes, that's right, we've got wheels! Of the push bike variety. But if our mothers are reading this don't worry. Pondy's roads are smooth, quiet, and we've only been told off by the police once - for pushing our bikes along the pavement. We won't do that again. Thank you and goodnight.

Cabin Fever

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if your bed had wheels? Have you ever wondered what it would be like if said bed travelled across rocky, pot-holed, swervy terrain- honking and abruptly stopping at random? What's more, have you wondered what it would be like to share your bed with two mammoth suitcases and your best mate? Neither had we, but last night we found out!

And what fun it was - we're grateful for eye-masks, sleeping bag liners and for Jen being small and bendy! Thankfully the only sypmtoms we suffered of cabin fever were fits of giggles.

So, in case you're wondering, that was the 'deluxe' night bus to Pondicherry. We are truly grateful though for safe travels and also stumbling into the most peaceful, cleanest colonial era guest house we could have imagined. This is our first escape away from the big cities and we're really looking forward to a bit of chilled out sightseeing and reflection time, visiting Auroville - a utopian artist village - and our next project visit.

And did we mention that 'Pondy' is a beautiful French colonial town that sits on the Bay of Bengal and therefore is the Indian capital of French pastries and all things tres chic, n'est pas? Right ho, must bid you all bon nuit - we've got stars to gaze at from our personal rooftop terrace x 

Bangalorius continued!

Well, we suspected as such.... the last 3 days have indeed included a spa visit, a factory visit and a project visit! We've seen the epic industrial scale of manufacturing cloth in India, the impact of a small fair trade exporter on local individuals and squirmed as our toes were scrubbed, poked and polished.

So now to the details... we chose red polish.

Anna Louise's factory was HUGE! We're talking several, or at least two football stadiums worth of dying, spinning and weaving machines plus a design studio to dream about, another fancy showroom and a whole lot of Pooja. This is a ritual that takes place over a week once a year and is all about remembering the night before the great battle of Ram when he and his army prepared their weapons. They won the battle, so today, everyone here frantically cleans and then decorates their 'weapons of work'- so cars, computers, spades, you name it!- as a way of saying thanks for the tools that allow you to live. In the mill, this meant that each machine was adorned with garlands of flowers and palm leaves and shrines incorporating bobbins of thread could be seen in every department. And each and every person left work with a delicious box of Indian sweets- we were jammy enough to be included in this!

Today we went on a bit of a wild goose chase to find the Jacob's Well project- thankfully our autowallah had his meter on! Tucked away above a row of typically cluttered shops, this small unit was a haven of order and tranquility. Though the project itself is in a time of real change, we were able to have a fantastic conversation with it's overseer and production manager. Once again there were striking similarities of vision and hurdles with our own endeavours back home. We'll definitely be keeping in touch.

Along side all of this we've been having 'fun' trying to find internet access in this I.T capital of the world- with experiences ranging from freebies in 5 star hotels to shower cubicle compartments with the slowest connection known to man, we've waited in the "Senior citizen, Physically challenged, Foreign tourist" queue in the train station and continued to see people stretch the limits of what they can fit onto a 'two-wheeler'. Our favourite items so far being  a 3ft oil painting, a PC monitor and a stack of chairs. You name it we've seen it- no item too big, too clumbersome or too many!

We're leaving this sprawling leafy metropolis tomorrow for the pastries, beaches and boulevards of French colonial Pondicherry. It's a hard life.

Bangalorious!

Well we've certainly hit the big town big time! Since we last blogged we've navigated our way through the Indian railway system, been able to wander through tree-lined streets comfortably and caught up with an old chum.

Said chum, Anna -Louise, is working as the principle designer for a high-end interiors weaving compnay based here in Bangalore. We've had such an insight already into the differing levels of craft and design in India and going to Anna Lou's company showroom, in a fancy district of the city, has certainly given us a glimpse into the highest levels of workmanship available. The fabrics were beautiful and it was really interesting to be able to still recognise Anna-Louise's distinctive style that we knew from art school. Staying with Anna Louise has been like staying in a home from home and catching up with her has been one of our highlights so far.

So amazing fabrics and friends aside, we've also experienced a side of India we've not had the chance to so far... the nightlife! Well, when we say night life it could be classed as 'eveninglife' as everything here must close at 11.30pm and, wait for it, THERE'S NO DANCING ALLOWED IN BANGALORE! But we made up for this by heading back to a friend of Anna-Lou's for more merriment! It is also fair to say that this was the most upmarket abode we've been to yet and certainly felt like we'd partied with Bangalore's up and coming middle class.

So we have a week of factory visits, project visits and possibly even spa visits ahead! How exciting! And so, as Brucey would say, we'll 'keeeeeeeeeeeeeeep blogging'!